Frontier stage
Keynote

One size does not fit all: AI and social robotics for assessing child mental wellbeing

In person
  • Date
    10 July 2025
    Timeframe
    10:40 - 11:00 CEST
    Duration
    20 minutes
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    This talk presents an interdisciplinary vision leveraging social robotics and AI to transform mental wellbeing assessment for future generations, developed through a collaboration between the University of Cambridge’s Affective Intelligence and Robotics Lab and Department of Psychiatry.

    Through studies with children aged 8-13, we designed robot-led assessments that combine structured interactions, validated questionnaires, and AI models. These assessments identified wellbeing concerns more effectively than traditional self- or parent-reports, with remote longitudinal methods also proving valuable. Automated analysis of nonverbal behaviours showed that children with higher wellbeing expressed themselves more openly, with notable gender differences observed. These findings challenge uniform assessment methods and support the need for personalised tools that consider individual differences.